Buyer opened "doesn't seem authentic" return before they received the item. Ebay says buyer is right

[usgamecollector]

I have a 2 business day handling time. Buyer purchased on friday and opened a case on monday saying "doesn't seem authentic" because I hadn't shipped the item yet.

I called ebay asking them to close the return because the buyer hadn't even received the item yet.  They told me that since the buyer couldn't open an item not received case (since the estimated delivery isn't until next week) it was perfectly valid for the buyer to open a return because they thought it was fraud as I had not shipped the item. She said it had been 3 days since they purchased and the buyer had every right to be upset. I said my listing says 2 business days handling time and today is the 1st business day, what is the point of putting a custom handling time in the listing if 2 business days is too long and the buyer gets to decide when it should be shipped? She said my only option is to message the buyer and get him to close the case, otherwise I will have to pay for the return. Seeing as how the buyer can't read the listing and opened a case without even messaging me, I highly doubt the buyer will close the case. Even if they were to close the case I still get a defect for it.

I guess now buyer's can just guess the item isn't authentic before they ever even receive it and ebay is fine with it. It's ridiculous that ebay encourages this kind of buyer behavior and I get a defect for it.

[2015mhfashions]

Totally agree, similar thing with the one Negative i have recently, Buyer is a self proclaimed expert with this item, opened Snad claiming not Authentic, all store purchase receipts uploaded to the case showing the item purchased, By Me, Including Date, address of store, UPC, EAN Numbers, E Bay refused to acknowledge my proof of Authenticity and the buyer lying to force me to pay return shipping, so buyer simply claims fake and that's it, Done, item came back legs rolled up at the bottoms, obviously to long, just as i thought, don't fit, E bay really need to use common sense to weed out these fraudulent Snad's and the malicious feedback left.

[southern*sweet*tea]

Send the buyer a message, ask them if they have the right seller, since it is impossible for them to know if the items are not authentic when they haven't even been shipped.  Ask them to close the case and you will cancel the order if that's what they want. If this guy is for real, then this would certainly qualify as a buyer requested cancel.

You could refund, that would close the case and give the buyer their money back, but you're stuck with a bogus SNAD.

Trying to ping alan, brian.t and/or trinton but keep getting some weird #@login message when I type their names.

[missjen831]

Customer service wasn’t wrong. Your only option isn’t to message the buyer and ask him to close the return. You can just refund the buyer & avoid paying for return shipping since you haven’t shipped yet. And you won’t get a defect either way. It will count against your return metrics but it’s not a defect.

[myjunqueyourtreasure]

"she said it had been 3 days since they purchased and the buyer had every right to be upset."

Wow, really?

THIS is why ebay needs to go back to showing the seller's handling time.

[luckythewinner]

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@usgamecollector wrote:
I guess now buyer's can just guess the item isn't authentic before they ever even receive it and ebay is fine with it.

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It is true now, and has also been true for the past decade - ever since eBay introduced their Money Back Guarantee.

[dtexley3]

@Anonymous the OP seems to have reached a CS agent that needs coaching on how to count business days for handling time.

Why would "item seems not authentic" be allowed the correct return reason when the item hasn't shipped?

[threshold.sales.group]

OP, I think you have a valid appeal based on the buyer demanding something not included in the listing. Your listings when purchased clearly stated the handling time and the buyer is demanding faster service without your prior consent. *Should* be an easy reversal on appeal, plus compensation for the return shipping. 

[dtexley3]

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@threshold.sales.group wrote:

OP, I think you have a valid appeal based on the buyer demanding something not included in the listing. Your listings when purchased clearly stated the handling time and the buyer is demanding faster service without your prior consent. *Should* be an easy reversal on appeal, plus compensation for the return shipping. 

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Per the OP the item had not been shipped.  Issue is that under the new seller stats ALL return requests count against you.  Buyers should NOT be allowed to open a return request prior to the item shipping.  Request a cancellation, yes, return request, no.

[Anonymous]

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@dtexley3 wrote:

@Anonymous the OP seems to have reached a CS agent that needs coaching on how to count business days for handling time.

Why would "item seems not authentic" be allowed the correct return reason when the item hasn't shipped?

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Hi @dtexley3 & @usgamecollector, I have had this call reviewed and appropriate coaching has been provided regarding the related conversation. I am sorry that the call with Customer Service did not provide the clear education and guidance that we would hope for. While the topic of business days and a seller's expectations could have been addressed more directly, I do want to clarify that there was no education provided that a seller would have to pay for a return under these circumstances. Within the conversation we reviewed we simply indicated that we would need to wait for the item to be delivered and then we could close the case. 

A few additional points I wish to touch on for future reference:

• A buyer cannot open an item not received case until after the latest estimated delivery date has passed.
• We do not prevent a buyer from opening a return request before the item is delivered because we have no way of knowing in many situations if an item has been delivered yet.
  • Even when tracking is provided for the purchase, there are situations where this tracking is invalid or incorrect and an item can have been delivered already, but the tracking says otherwise.
  • Because of tracking not being consistently provided and because it is not always an accurate resource to determine if a package has been received, we would not prevent a buyer from opening a return request based on tracking or the package being marked as "shipped".
• A request is a way of a customer asking for assistance - while we do track opened requests as a part of some Seller Performance Standards, these metrics would be comparisons between you and your peers, who are also experiencing these kinds of situations with the same frequency. As such, this would not significantly impact you as you only face potential account consequences when you are an outlier within your peer group.
• A defect is only recorded for a return request where eBay is asked to step in and does not decide in the seller's favor. Again, while return rates is considered in our Seller Performance Standards, this would be different from the defect system.
• There are times when you may feel that a customer's concerns or complaint is unfounded or unreasonable - while this can at times be the case, this does not detract from the expectation for a business to provide customer service. Situations like the one raised here are few and far between and a part of building a successful business is sometimes taking care of customers even when you feel they are wrong.

I hope this helps clear up any confusion. I do apologize again for any failings on our part when speaking to this transaction and providing guidance.

[ittybitnot]

Amazing

[moms**art**window**]

i know this isn't the meat of what your saying but eBay needs to require that buyer produce some evidence some type of written opinion from a qualified expert a seller needs a chance to defend this by having a chance to properly educate the buyer,it's important to defend this for many reasons,shouldn't be a drop down menu choice on buyers return reason this is a recipe for fight to the death conflict even if you don't mind taking a return, bad idea or if it is should have in (may require qualified experts written opinion next to it)

[usgamecollector]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@dtexley3 wrote:

@Anonymous the OP seems to have reached a CS agent that needs coaching on how to count business days for handling time.

Why would "item seems not authentic" be allowed the correct return reason when the item hasn't shipped?

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Hi @dtexley3 & @usgamecollector, I have had this call reviewed and appropriate coaching has been provided regarding the related conversation. I am sorry that the call with Customer Service did not provide the clear education and guidance that we would hope for. While the topic of business days and a seller's expectations could have been addressed more directly, I do want to clarify that there was no education provided that a seller would have to pay for a return under these circumstances. Within the conversation we reviewed we simply indicated that we would need to wait for the item to be delivered and then we could close the case.

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thank you for your response. I am not sure if you were able to review the exact conversation, but yes the rep told me once it was delivered, and the buyer agreed everything was fine, then it would be closed. The added "the buyer had to confirm" to close the return made it no different than the current situation. Whether the item was delivered or not the buyer is the one that had all the control when they were abusing the process.

I had no problem at all working with a buyer to fix the problem, but when there is a case open and money on hold it makes it feel like ebay is encouraging buyers to abuse the system. Especially in the ebay environment where once a case is open you are one click away from instantly getting a defect and losing your money. If the buyer wanted to return the item I had no problem with that, but it was implied that I would have to pay for the return shipping since they opened the case for not as described.

Multiple times I said it wasn't right that the buyer was abusing the return process, and the rep told me that they were not because the rep felt like I had taken too long to ship the item when it was within my handling time. That is what was the most frustrating about this whole thing.

[usgamecollector]

I have a suggestion for the future:


Since ebay seems to be very firm on not allowing returns to be closed even if they are clearly wrong (like item not even being delivered yet), my suggestion would be to program something that lets ebay reps change the reason for a return. If I had called and ebay was able to change the return from not authentic to no longer needed everything would have been fine on my end and I wouldn't have gotten upset about it, and the buyer would still feel like they were being helped. Calling and the rep saying "you won't have to pay for return shipping" is not as  assuring to me than if the actual case reason was changed.

[karen9nick]

Ebay is wrong on this one completely. It's plain and simple, the customer cannot read shipping time etc., they didn't get the item to even know what's real or what's not. I would contact the buyer, in a nice way and kindly explain and even copy your shipping rules, ask how he/she could know if it is a fake if not received? Then if he/she gives you some terrible answer, kindly accept a return. Also, check this buyers status and see if it seems to be an issue. Then contact Ebay and talk to someone else. No person can tell a fake by a picture. It's just buyers remorse if you ask me. Sorry that happened.